The present invention relate s generally to smart cards. More specifically, the present invention relates to implementation of a value-added file structure on smart cards.
Many businesses currently make use of so-called xe2x80x9cloyaltyxe2x80x9d programs that reward customers for frequent purchase of the business""s products or services. Well known loyalty programs include frequent flyer mileage programs, frequent guest programs at hotels, programs to reward frequent purchases at food markets, etc. Many loyalty programs make use of a credit card-sized plastic card with an embossed customer number to help keep track of a customer""s purchases. (Others even use smaller cards that may attach to a key chain.) Others use a magnetic stripe card which can magnetically store information such as customer name and identification number, number of purchases, points awarded, etc. Still other loyalty programs have been implemented using a smart card in conjunction with a terminal at a loyalty operator""s place of business. Although some types of loyalty programs have been successfully implemented to date, there are a number of disadvantages with the way these programs are currently implemented.
For example, previous loyalty programs require fixed or preestablished relationships between a loyalty operator and an issuing bank. These previous programs have no flexibility and make it difficult for the loyalty operator to define and roll out new or improved loyalty applications. For one example, consider a large market chain that wishes to develop a loyalty program for its food stores in conjunction with a regional bank. The market must first negotiate an agreement with the bank to provide a particular loyalty file structure on a smart card (or magnetic stripe card), along with a set of available commands that the loyalty operator""s terminal can execute in the course of implementing the loyalty application. The market must specify a particular file structure with which its own loyalty application software an work. The market must then write its loyalty application software to work in conjunction with the file structure and commands it has specified to be present on the card to be issued by the regional bank. All of this negotiation and specification takes a great deal of time and money. In fact, once an issuing bank specifies a particular file structure and interface for a loyalty application for use with a smart card, it can take up to nine months for the integrated circuits to be manufactured, embedded in smart cards, and finally returned to the bank for issuance to customers.
Further compounding the problem is that the large market chain would like to have any and all of its customers take part in its new loyalty program and not necessarily just those customers who have smart cards issued from the regional bank. It would not be feasible for the market to negotiate with each and every bank issuing a smart card that may appear one day in one of its markets. The market would like to be able to accept any smart card used by one of its customers and have that customer enrolled in the market""s loyalty program regardless of which bank the customer uses.
Consider a customer who uses a smart card issued by a large eastern bank because that is the bank that also provides the customer with frequent flyer mileage for his or her airline of choice. Even though the customer lives and shops in California, it is unlikely that any of the businesses he or she patronizes would have set up a loyalty program with the large eastern bank because that bank is out of the area. It is more likely that the California business will have negotiated with local banks to produce a custom loyalty file structure on a smart card that those businesses can make use to implement a loyalty program. Of course, it is possible that each customer could maintain a collection of smart cards from different banks that would allow that customer to enroll in the loyalty programs of any number of businesses. Realistically, though, customers will balk at the idea of carrying a large number of cards simply in order to take part in many loyalty programs.
Therefore, a technique is desired that would allow loyalty operators to enroll customers having smart cards from any issuer in that loyalty operator""s loyalty program without the need for a prearranged, fixed relationship with any issuer. It would further be desirable for an issuer to be able to generate revenue from loyalty programs implemented on smart cards issued by the issuer, yet relieve the issuer from having to negotiate agreements or from having to design custom loyalty file structures. Such a technique would further allow a loyalty operator to flexibly define their own loyalty program and to implement loyalty application software to its own liking.
To achieve the foregoing, and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, a loyalty file structure for smart cards is disclosed that obviates the need for predetermined, prearranged agreements between card issuers and loyalty operators.
The present invention allows flexibility in implementing loyalty programs by a loyalty operator and eliminates the need to have custom prearranged file structure definitions between a loyalty operator and each card issuer. A loyalty operator no longer needs to negotiate an agreement with each and every single issuer in order to have the issuer""s card accepted in the loyalty program of the operator, i.e., a smart card need not be custom made for each loyalty program.
The present invention provides numerous advantages and features. By providing any number of loyalty files on a smart card, a loyalty operator is able to enroll a customer in their loyalty program regardless of the bank from which the card was issued. Loyalty operators can define their own loyalty application software and determine their own level of security needed, without having to predefine a security level before the card is issued. A loyalty operator is also allowed access to a loyalty file on a smart card in real time, thus permitting a customer to be enrolled and data to be transferred to or from the card while the customer is waiting. A loyalty operator can also choose their own password for access to a file and can decide their own level of security needed for a particular file. Furthermore, no key exchange is required between the parties.
The present invention also provides numerous advantages from the issuer""s point of view. By allowing access to a loyalty file on a smart card in real time over an on-line connection, the issuer can make loyalty files available for rent easily and quickly, thus generating revenue from all of its cards issued, regardless of the geographic location of the cardholder or the loyalty operator. Furthermore, the issuing bank is relieved from having to either specify a custom loyalty file structure implementation on a smart card and/or having to negotiate agreements with each and every loyalty operator.
In one embodiment of the present invention, any number of loyalty files with standard header information and variables are implemented in a memory of a smart card before the smart card is issued to a customer. The structure of a loyalty file and the basic commands used to interface with the loyalty file are known beforehand by the smart card issuers, by acquiring banks, and by loyalty operators that are developing loyalty application software. When a customer uses a smart card in conjunction with a merchant, the merchant terminal determines whether a loyalty file is available for use. If so, the terminal is able to go on-line in real time to communicate with the issuer to receive a password to allow access to the selected loyalty file and other identifying information. In this fashion, the issuer can keep control over the use of particular loyalty files on smart cards and keep track of which loyalty operators have enrolled which customers in loyalty programs. The loyalty file on the smart card is made available for use by the loyalty application software of the loyalty operator and in exchange, the loyalty operator makes a payment to the issuer. From this point on, the loyalty operator makes use of its own loyalty application software to read from and/or write to the loyalty file on the smart card any data it desires.
In another embodiment, a loyalty file on a card is used with electronic ticketing to store information pertaining to a purchased ticket over the Internet. Upon later presentation of the card at an airline boarding gate, stored information in the loyalty file is compared with the same information downloaded from the airline host computer. A match indicates a valid purchase and a boarding pass is issued.